Ranma ran to school with Akane, as he had a couple of
hundred times before, but this time when the fence by the canal
came up, he didn't run along its top rail. It was too easy to
fall in from there, and if he fell in he might be too far from
Akane if.... His head swiveled back and forth. His eyes roved
constantly, sweeping the rooftops and alleys.

Akane noticed and slowed to a walk. He matched her stride,
staying about an armlength away, and stopped when she stopped.
"What's the matter, Ranma?"

He glanced at her once, and then his eyes went back to
sweeping. "Nothin'." Saffron. Shampoo. Kiima. Happosai.
Spirits. Demons. Whatever. They're not gonna get ya.

She studied him for a moment and then her lips curved into
that small, fond, possessive smile that warmed his heart and
unsettled his stomach. "Sure. Come on, we're almost there."
She started running again.

Kuno Tatewaki was standing in his usual spot before the
school steps, holding his bokken. Ranma slowed from his trot a
little after Akane did and walked out ahead of her. "Hey, Kuno,
what's up?"

"Silence, Saotome! Prepare thyself to face the just wrath
of Heaven! I shall smite thee for thy transgressions against all
womankind! HA!" Kuno advanced rapidly to engage Ranma, feinted,
and struck. There was a sudden blur, his palms stung, and the
bokken left his grip. He looked down at his empty hands.

Ranma, standing a couple of yards away, flipped Kuno's
bokken into the air and caught it. "Lookin' for this?" He
thrust it deep into the tree behind him, where it vibrated for a
moment. Ranma stepped back to Akane's side.

"You cur!" Kuno ran to the tree, seized the bokken, and
tried to draw it forth, but it was firmly held by the living
wood. He turned to see Ranma's expected slight smirk and Akane's
neutral expression. He took a couple of steps toward Ranma,
hands working at his sides.

Ranma sighed and slid forward into an exaggerated ready
stance. "Want ta try it my way, huh?" Kuno stared into Ranma's
eyes, and saw something there that hadn't been there before the
trip to China... or was something missing? The thought held him
long enough for Ranma to decide he wouldn't attack.

"Hey, Kuno, we can do this again any time ya like." The
smirk disappeared. "Just don't bring a katana like ya did to the
wedding. Someone might get hurt." The smirk reappeared. "Looks
like someone wants ta talk to you." Ranma pointed to one side of
Kuno with his chin and turned away.

"Look, sonny," the gardener began as Akane and Ranma started
up the front steps, "I don't care what you do to each other, but
leave the landscaping out of it. You think trees grow on trees
or something? It takes years of work MY work and you kids
just chop 'em down or shred them into excelsior or, or run
bokkens through them...."

~~~~~

Akane stood outside the girls' locker room, glaring at onna-Ranma,
who was wearing girls' gym shorts and top. "I don't care
if you look like a girl, you're NOT a girl, and you're not coming
in here!"

"But, Akane, what if..." Ranma began.

"'What if' what?!"

Ranma sagged. "Nothin'."

~~~~~

Onna-Ranma crept into the home-ec class, wearing a smock and
headcloth, and looked around for Akane. A sudden foreboding made
her glance over her shoulder.

"Honestly, Ranma, what do you think you're doing?" Akane
said, crossing her arms. Other girls started coming up around
her. Ranma cringed. Some of them were carrying frying pans.
That roasting fork looked awfully sharp, too....

"Heh. Heh. See ya!" She left hastily. Akane grimaced and
went back to her station.

~~~~~

Akane faced onna-Ranma down outside the girls' bathroom.
"NO!!"

~~~~~

Ranma stuck close to Akane right through the dojo gate, and
then leapt onto the roof and was gone. Akane watched him go and
shook her head. She went inside, dropped her bag in her room,
and fell on her bed. She heard a faint scrape of roof tiles and
knew that Ranma was still on the roof above her room.
...guarding? Suddenly the whole exasperating day made sense,
and her expression reflected mingled annoyance and affection.

She turned over and looked up at the ceiling. I can't
stand it any more. I have to talk to someone. Not Ranma, darn
it. Not Father. Definitely not Nabiki.... She rolled to her
feet and left her room.

Akane found Kasumi working on a flower arrangement in her
room. "Kasumi? Can I, um, talk to you?"

Kasumi turned to look up at her, smiled, and gestured to the
mat beside her. "Well, of course, sister." Akane closed the
door and came to kneel beside her elder sister. "Now, what's
this all about? Ranma-kun?"

"I guess." Akane picked up a bit of stem and started
fiddling with it. "Or maybe it's about me. I just wish I knew
how to make Ranma be nicer to me. I wish he'd take me places,
like other guys take their, um, girlfriends."

Kasumi turned half away, picked up a sprig of some plant
Akane didn't know from bamboo, and trimmed a little off one end.
"Well, Akane, I'm not sure what I can tell you. After all, I'm
not the one who had dozens of boys chasing after her. I don't go
out on dates. I've never had a strong, handsome fiance." There
was no trace of an edge to Kasumi's usual soft voice, but Akane
stared at her profile, appalled.

Kasumi laughed a little, lifting one hand to cover her
mouth. "Oh, my, no. He's not my type at all." She looked out
the window. "Sometimes I wonder what my type is...." She smiled
at Akane. "But that doesn't mean I don't have eyes. I can see
what Shampoo sees, and Ukyo, and Kodachi... and you."

Akane blushed and started to stammer denials, but without
much heat.

Kasumi put down her shears and held up her hand. "Sister."
She stared at Akane, not smiling now, until Akane blushed again
and fell silent. "If you really don't want him, I'll talk to
Father about releasing you from the engagement." She paused,
waiting for the tiny shake of the head that was all Akane could
manage. "So. You don't have to admit the truth to him just yet,
but if you don't admit it to yourself, you can still keep
yourself from happiness."

"I can what?"

Kasumi smiled again. "If you don't know what you want, only
luck will make you happy. If you know what you want, you can
plan for it and work toward it." The smile dimmed. "I won't
give you advice. I'm not... I'm not Mother." There was no edge
this time either, and only a trace of a quaver. "But if you want
someone to talk with about your problems, sister to sister, I'd
be glad to." The smile returned. "My goodness, I'll probably
learn something from you!"

Akane, who had looked like she was about to prove that she
was her father's daughter, toppled sideways and came up laughing.
"Sure, I'll tell you everything you need to know about punishing
bakas, being kidnapped by monsters, and frustrating two
generations of Kunos!" She sobered. "But Kasumi... what about
your happiness? Until...." She gulped. "Until just now I
hadn't even thought that you might not be. I'm... I'm sorry."

"Oh, but I am happy. I know my work is appreciated,
especially since Ranma-kun and Saotome-no-ojisama came. And
their guests are so very entertaining. It's hard to remember how
dull life was before, isn't it?"

"I guess."

"Only... I miss Tofu-sensei since he left," Kasumi said
wistfully. "It could have been a good match."

Sure, if he'd prescribed himself some tranquilizers, Akane
thought but carefully refrained from saying. "I don't suppose
anyone has heard from him recently?" she asked instead.

"Not that I know of." Kasumi turned to look at Akane with
eyes that suddenly didn't seem vague at all. "Now, I must admit
to being curious about something. You and Ranma-kun told us all
what happened on your trip to China, but I couldn't help thinking
there were some parts you skimmed over. Why don't you tell me
about Jusendo?"

Akane blanched and shuddered. Kasumi watched her reaction
without seeming to, and waited for her sister to speak while
continuing with her arrangement.

~~~~~

Akane stopped outside the Furinkan library and turned to
Ranma. "Look, I'm going to be an hour working on that report on
livestock, so why don't you just go find something else to do?"

Ranma looked annoyed. "Why shouldn't I go in there?"

"The last time you went into the library, you got bored in
five minutes and started a book-war that took Nishimoto-sensei
four days to clear up, and she still blames me for it. Now I'm
going in there for an hour, and you're not. Deal with it."

Ranma's response was cut off by the slamming of the heavy
door. The old librarian glared at her from her desk, and Akane
grimaced. Darn Ranma, he gets me in so much trouble! She
tiptoed into the stacks. Just stop thinking about him for an
hour.... She found the section where books on livestock should
be and browsed along the shelf. Her eye was caught by a kanji
character on a book spine because it was the same as the "ma" in
"Ranma"

BAM!

Nishimoto looked up from her desk. "Surely not even Tendo
would abuse the shelving," she muttered to herself and returned
to the catalog card.

Akane got control of herself and yanked the offending book
off the shelf. The Taming of the Horse: An Equestrian's Guide,
she read on the cover. She started to put the book back, but
changed her mind. She took it to a table and started to read.

An hour later, Nishimoto looked up as Akane approached her
desk. Akane silently held out a book. The librarian glanced at
the title, checked it out, and handed it back. "I hope you find
it useful," she told Akane pleasantly. Akane blushed and left
hastily.

~~~~~

Akane finished washing the dishes and waited for Kasumi to
finish drying them and putting them away. "If you have a
minute..." she began.

Kasumi paused and turned towards her. "Yes, sister?"

"Well, there's something I'd like to chat with you about,"
Akane said. Kasumi looked around. No one else was in the
kitchen. "Privately," Akane added quietly.

Kasumi raised an eyebrow, but led Akane to her room. Akane
went to her own room, came back with her bookbag, and closed the
door.

Kasumi sighed. "Really, Akane, she knows better than that.
If I caught her eavesdropping on me, I would be quite vexed."

"She does it to me all the time, and I get a lot more than
vexed, but it doesn't stop her," Akane grumbled.

"Well, for you to be vexed is one thing...." Kasumi made a
vague gesture. "So, what would you like to chat about?"

"Oh, right." Akane opened her bookbag and pulled out The
Taming of the Horse. "I found this book in the school library,
and it said some interesting things." She flipped through the
book, stopped at one of several bookmarks, and handed it to
Kasumi. "Like this... and here...."

Kasumi read, then gave Akane a puzzled look. "Are you
thinking of taking up riding?"

Akane flushed. "No! Um... while I was reading, it suddenly
occurred to me that some of the advice in the book fit... um...
me-and-Ranma."

Kasumi looked at the book, then looked at Akane and raised
both eyebrows. "If you don't mind my asking, who is to be the
rider and who the, ah, ridee?"

Akane facefaulted. "I'm the, um, trainer," she said when
she'd recovered. "Ranma's the horse. It was his name that gave
me the idea in the first place, sort of."

"I see." Kasumi turned back to the book and reread the
passages Akane had pointed out. "Oh, my. I do see."

"And here...." Akane flipped forward and pointed.

Kasumi read. "Oh, my goodness." She looked at Akane. "If
I were you, I would make sure Ranma-kun doesn't find out about
this. He might get the wrong idea." Or the right one.

Akane stared at her own twiddling thumbs. "I know. That's
one reason I was worried about Nabiki. I don't need to hide the
book I have to return it in two weeks anyway but I have to
hide what I'm up to." She looked up. "Do you think it'll work?"
she asked hopefully.

"Well...." Kasumi pondered. "Well, assuming you intend to
take the book's methods metaphorically rather than literally...."

Akane half-smiled. "I'm not going to put a bridle on him,
if that's what you mean." She leaned forward. "But I told you
about Jusendo. I'm sure he loves me. He's not sure I love him.
That's the only weapon I've got. If I just tell him right out,
I'll scare him off. The wedding proved that."

"Since you mention it, I was wondering about the wedding.
To tell you the truth, I was a little surprised that you went
along with it, after you put up such a fuss the first time."

"That was before Jusendo. That was when I was afraid Ranma
didn't love me. That was before...." Akane stopped. "I didn't
tell Father everything about Jusendo because... well, you know
how he is. But we came so close to dying there that it still
scares me. I thought if we could just be married, then
everything would be all right somehow." She snorted
indelicately. "I should have known it would all fall apart."

"It was quite a mess, wasn't it? I was expecting you to be
furious, or hurt, but you didn't hit poor Ranma-kun even
once...."

Akane grimaced. "I wasn't mad, I was... exasperated. I
gave that baka the perfect chance. I saw how he looked at me.
Why couldn't he just SAY it?!"

Kasumi made a palm-up gesture, clearly unable to shed any
light on Ranma's motivations. "Well, since you're sure he loves
you, you could just wait for him to tell you so, you know."

"I don't think we have time," Akane said grimly. "Half a
dozen times in the last year, it could have all gone wrong
forever. Mount Horai, Ryugenzawa, even those silly mushrooms.
No, I can't wait any more. I have to do something."

Kasumi studied her sister. "Akane... are you sure about
this?"

Akane closed her eyes and sighed. "Yes. Yes, I'm sure.
He's rude, insensitive, and immature, but I don't care. I want
him. I want him more than anything." She looked at Kasumi,
trembling a bit. "If I can be in control the way the book says,
I can... tame him. Just enough so he'll let himself be mine."

"You'll have to be in control of yourself even more," Kasumi
pointed out gently.

"I know. The book says that too. I have to be 'patient,
understanding, and firm.' It's harder to get mad at Ranma now
that I know how he really feels about me, though. I think I can
manage."

"What about the other girls?"

Akane sighed again. "I don't know. Sometimes I feel so, so
inadequate compared to them. But Ranma hasn't gone off with one
of them, so I must have a chance."

"Oh, I think you do. I think you have the best chance."
Kasumi smiled warmly at Akane.

"Do you suppose you could help, Kasumi?" Akane asked, giving
her sister a speculative look. "Ranma respects you. He's as
polite to you as he is to anyone. Maybe you could...."

Kasumi shook her head doubtfully. "If Ranma respects me,
it's probably because I'm just about the only person he knows
who's not trying to get him to do something. If I try to get him
to do something, even for you, I'll probably lose that without
doing any good."

"Hmph." Akane looked frustrated, but didn't argue the
point.

Kasumi relented. "Well, we'll see. I've been warning him
when I saw he was about to do something foolish, and that doesn't
seem to have done any harm." Not that it did much good....

"Everyone else has been meddling, and they've made a real
botch of it," Akane muttered. "It'd just be nice to have someone
on my side for a change."

"Well, what are you planning to do, then?"

"It's not exactly a plan," Akane said slowly. "Ranma's not
really a horse, after all. I can punish him when he does
something wrong " Kasumi bit her lip to keep from laughing out
loud "but I haven't figured out how to reward him when he does
something right. The book says carrots, but he doesn't like my
cooking for some silly Kasumi?!"

"Hmmm?" Kasumi kept her lips tightly pressed together and
tried to look as though the single strangled giggle had sounded
out of thin air. She concentrated on reassembling her fractured
serenity, firmly suppressing the image of Akane chasing Ranma
around with a blackened carrot hanging from a stick by a string.

"Honestly," Akane huffed. "My own sister. Anyway, I can't,
um, train him that way. I can't change anything about me too
much, because I don't know why he loves me, and I'm afraid I'll
change something he likes. So I'm just going to try to keep from
getting mad at him, and hope he'll be nice to me, and wait for
the right moment to... well, I haven't figured that out yet."

Kasumi raised her eyebrows. "My, Akane, what a cunning
plan!" she cooed.

Akane stared at her for a moment. Sarcasm? Kasumi? No
way. She shook her head. "I hope so. Well, that's it, I
guess. Wish me luck...." She got up, picked up the book and put
it in her bag, and wandered out of Kasumi's room. Kasumi turned
to look at the bookshelves that lined one wall of her room,
considered for a moment, then pulled out a book. Its title was
Child and Adolescent Psychology.

~~~~~

A few days later, Nabiki walked into the main room carrying
a large, flat plastic bag. "I saw this at a junk shop, and
thought you might be able to use it," she said casually, tossing
the bag down in front of Akane.

Akane put down her book and looked at the bag, then at
Nabiki. A gift? From Nabiki? "Thanks, I guess." She picked
up the bag, reached in, and pulled out...

...something about 2 feet long, springy, tapered to about a
quarter of an inch wide at one end, with a handle of plaited
leather at the other and a wrist-thong....

Ranma looked up from his manga. "Takin' up riding, Akane?"
His voice and face were completely free of innuendo. It saved
his hide.

Akane stared at the crop in her hand and turned as red as
her name. She looked up at her sister. Nabiki smiled a sly
smile and lifted an eyebrow. Akane erupted from the couch waving
the crop and chased Nabiki up the stairs, shrieking.

Ranma shrugged and went back to his manga, moving his lips
occasionally.